A Chase across Rifts
by Flying.Penguin.97
Summary: Alexius casts his spell in a panic sending Lyra Lavellan back into the time of a Ferelden that has only just made it's way through the blight. Stuck on her own with no way back to the future Lyra's only hope comes from Ostagar, where she hopes to find Solas dreaming of the great betrayal, for if she alerts Solas to the future he can stop her from ever being sent back.


Hey everyone! Nicole here! For those of you who have read the summary I'll let you know this is the stories introduction, with the plot kicking off in the next upload. For now sit back and enjoy the chilled start :)

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><p>The wind was little more than a tickle on the back of her neck as she sat over the edge of the mountain edge. The drop beneath her wasn't sudden but it was steep enough to show off a stunning amount of the mountain range below them. The red of sunset bounced around their peaks with ease, creating a beautiful red glow off the powdered snow.<p>

No one else was around to see it, most had made their way slowly, if not surely towards the inn since their return from Redcliff. She'd returned with nothing more than an invitation to a trap, and as she sat here she knew her advisors would be searching high and low for a way to turn the trap to her favour. She'd left once it was clear she had nothing left to say. She wasn't one for tactical assault, if they wanted her as bait she had no way of launching a counter argument.

She wouldn't let the thought trouble her however, out here Haven's lights looked like little more than low lying stars in the darkening sky and so she would lets its problems shrink just as much.

"Red skies at night, the shepherds will be pleased." There was a time were Sola's sudden appearance had made her flinch, but now it was as common as the snow under their feet. "So the saying goes" Lyra turned to face him, she could feel the red light from below bouncing across her face, and she squinted in an effort to force it from the corners of her eyes. Solas smiled lightly at her, a slight glint in his eyes, a greeting he saved mostly for her eyes only.

Lyra slipped herself down from her perch, rising slowly from her knees after the drop. "What do I owe the occasion to" she teased, there was a glint in his eye, there was something he definitely wanted to share. He chuckled lightly before shaking his head "You're a studious woman Lyra, I think you'll appreciate learning about what I've found" he replied and she found it hard to rid herself of the smile now stuck to her face. She couldn't tell if it was him, or the excitement of new discoveries that had her in pure glee around him but she wasn't going to lose sleep on figuring it out so instead she followed like a puppy, hot on his heels. With Solas by her side she felt like an apprentice again and she loved it.

It wasn't a long walk to his cabin, he'd made a place for himself in the corner of their settlement. It was hard to stumble across and she only knew it's location due to their previous rendezvous there. She knew he went for walks in the mountains at night, and she guessed the remoteness of the cabin's location made it easier for him to sneak off. Leliana had told her of it but she left him be, she trusted him and she certainly didn't want to force more suspicion on him. Once they were inside she made her way to his kettle. He always had hot tea brewing, yet she rarely saw him drinking it. She poured herself some as she watched Solas fuss over a torch stand. It seemed so _ordinary_ compared to some of the things he kept in here but after a few minutes in preparation and a click of his fingers that changed. A flame sprang to life, casting the room in it's glow, but the flame wasn't orange. It was blue.

"Viel fire?" The words fell from her lips without her meaning them to, and she stuttered as she hurried to make a coherent sentence. "I thought you said this only occurred where the viel was thin." He smirked at her. "Glad to see you're paying attention, but that's actually where you come in." It was then she felt it, the warmth in her palm, her mark was flaring despite no rifts.

"You're using my mark to weaken the veil."

"Correct." He sounded _impressed. _"In the same way you can reopen rifts to seal them correctly, I can use your mark to weaken the veil enough to produce veil fire."

She looked closely, her eyes watching it as it flickered, it was identical in every way to normal fire, but she felt no warmth from its glow. Carefully she set her cup down and strolled across the room, placing her fingers just within the flames. It was **freezing** and she removed her hand from it, brushing off the touch of frost that had curled around her finger. Despite the cold however its presence still emanated comfort, lighting the room in a way that promoted calming thoughts.

"I must admit it complements your room nicely." Lyra hummed.

"It's not the only thing it complements" The slight twitch in the corner of his mouth gave away the intent of the remark and Lyra felt her ears warm with great speed at the compliment.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were flirting."She laughed, glad the tune didn't flutter like the contents of her stomach.

"Your ears tell me you may already know the intent of my comment" He teased and she couldn't help the laughter. It was playful, friendly and she loved the thrill of their tension. Once it died down she returned to the corner of the room that housed her tea, gripping it for warmth as she spoke."Now, did you draw my attention to your cabin to awe me or teach me." She said after a sip from her cup, one eyebrow raised in genuine curiosity.

"Are you sure you can spare the time, I hear there is quite the attack plan brewing in the war room for tommorow." He asked, a smile playing on his lips that was so small it was hard to see he was pulling an expression at all. Lyra stuck out her tongue in mock disgust at the thought of listening to even more military strategy plans.

"I'll have to return later, but for now? Consider my attention yours."

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><p>She showed up to the war room with veil fire in her hand playfully and a new found confidence that could only be gained from mastering a new skill. The plan hadn't changed much, but there was now the inclusion of a secret passage. Lyra didn't have to worry about the details, the passage was for Leliana and her spies after all, she just needed a way of keeping Alexius busy long enough to prevent her own murder.<p>

"Lyra, we can't force you to do this, I just want you to know it's not too late to ask for the templars help."

Lyra leaned over the board, brushing over the piece that marked the templars stronghold on the map before scanning the area near the hinterlands where the mages stayed. "We can't leave a hostile mage force on our doorstep. It may be a trap but at least we know what we're in for, the same can not be said about seeing the templars"

From the lack of noise she could tell there would be no objections to the viewpoint. Her people were tired, eager to leave, her choice was less of a detail to be argued and more like the final seal of approval. Eager to see it through herself she raised her piece of choice from the board and cast it to the side. The region the templars occupied was once again unmarked territory and all focus was on the area the mages resided. Her choice was clear. They were going after the mages.

"Sleep well, we go tomorrow."

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><p>I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave any thoughts you may have in a review and don't forget to set an alert if you'd like to read updates in the future. This chapter was mostly setting the scene so if I have peaked your interest I'm certain you'll enjoy what is to come :)<p> 


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